The forest winds turned wild.
Leaves swirled through the air like a storm, while the ground trembled without pause. Massive roots burst from the earth only to sink back again, twisting like living creatures writhing in agony.
At the heart of the chaos stood the Dominion Generator.
WHOOOOOMMMMMM!!
Dark blue energy pulsed inside its core. With every beat, the machine drained another fragment of life from the forest.
Grass blackened.
Leaves withered.
Ancient tree trunks split apart from within.
It was as if life itself was being stolen one heartbeat at a time.
Farhan stared at his laptop, his face drained of color.
"...No."
His hands trembled.
"It's not just absorbing the Forest Core's energy..."
He swallowed hard.
"It's converting it."
Lila spun toward him.
"Converting it into what?"
Farhan's eyes remained locked on the wildly rising graphs.
"...Fuel."
Silence fell for a heartbeat.
Then Bimo muttered under his breath,
"...They're insane."
Ahead of them, Ursa Vitalis slowly raised its enormous head.
Its eyes burned like twin golden suns.
It looked upon the dying forest...
and unleashed another earth-shaking roar.
ROOOOOOOOOOOAR!!
The shockwave tore through the trees.
Ancient trunks snapped.
The fog split apart.
Even Dominion soldiers were thrown off their feet.
Yet the generator never stopped.
WHOOOOOMMMMMM!!
The Dominion Commander stood atop the armored vehicle, perfectly still.
Not even blinking.
As though every living thing around him was nothing more than another number in an experiment.
"Continue the extraction."
The man in the hat hesitated.
"But this entire region could collapse."
The Commander answered without emotion.
"If necessary."
Sinta stepped forward.
"Team!"
"We destroy that machine. Now!"
Bimo grinned despite the blood trickling from his temple.
"Finally."
He rolled his shoulders.
"Now that's a language I understand."
Dika moved beside him.
"I'll take the right."
"You take the left."
Tono had already disappeared into the treetops.
Rani, Nisa, and Andra spread out into position.
Kai remained beside Arga, his eyes never leaving Ursa Vitalis.
But Arga...
couldn't move.
He stared at the forest surrounding him.
Leaves drifted down like ash.
The ground that had once been full of life had cracked into dry, lifeless earth.
For the first time...
he felt as though he had arrived too late.
His fingers tightened around the MBG Lunchbox until they shook.
"I came here to protect..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Why is it... every place I try to save is already broken before I arrive?"
Kai glanced at him.
There was no answer he could offer.
"NOW!"
Sinta gave the signal.
Bimo and Dika exploded into motion.
WHOOSH!
Dominion turrets fired.
ZAAAP! ZAAAP!
Bimo rolled beneath the blasts.
"Whoa! That almost burned off my good looks!"
Dika slammed his boot into the side of the armored vehicle.
CLANG!
The metal caved inward.
Tono dropped from the tallest branch like a shadow.
CRASH!
The first turret exploded.
Rani pulled Lila away from another incoming blast.
Andra hurled a steel beam straight into one of the vehicle's sensor arrays.
CRASH!
Farhan shouted while watching the monitor.
"The generator core is in the center!"
"You have to break through the outer shell first!"
Bimo yelled back,
"In simple language?!"
Farhan didn't even look up.
"Hit the expensive part!"
"NOW THAT makes sense!"
Bimo lifted a massive steel bar and swung with all his strength.
BOOOOOOM!
Blue sparks erupted everywhere.
But—
a single hand caught the steel bar in midair.
Effortlessly.
Bimo froze.
The Dominion Commander was suddenly standing before him.
No footsteps.
No warning.
He was simply...
there.
His cold eyes settled on Bimo.
"You're noisy."
With one effortless strike—
WHAM!
Bimo was hurled across the battlefield.
THUD!
His body slammed into a massive root.
The air exploded from his lungs.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
Dika lunged forward—
but Bimo raised one hand.
Still grinning.
"Relax..."
He struggled back onto his feet.
"...I'm not done getting punched yet."
Across the battlefield—
Ursa Vitalis moved.
The colossal guardian looked at Arga.
Then at the dying forest.
Then at the generator.
With a deafening roar, it slammed both forelegs into the earth.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Cracks spread in every direction.
Gigantic roots burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around the Dominion vehicle.
CRAAAAACK!!
Metal screamed under the crushing pressure.
The generator shook violently.
The man in the hat panicked.
"The primary generator's destabilizing!"
The Dominion Commander merely glanced at it...
and smiled.
"Excellent."
He pressed a black button on the device in his hand.
The generator changed.
Its deep blue glow darkened...
until it became almost black.
WHOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!
Everyone froze.
Farhan looked at his screen—
and all the color drained from his face.
"...No."
Lila grabbed his shoulder.
"What happened?!"
Farhan slowly turned toward Arga.
"The machine..."
"...just forced the Forest Core open."
Suddenly—
the trembling stopped.
Not because everything had calmed.
Because something far worse had begun.
A terrible silence settled over the entire forest.
Arga felt something pierce straight through his chest.
Not pain.
A call.
Ancient.
Deep.
Overwhelmingly sorrowful.
His lunchbox flared with golden light.
The fifteen glowing rice grains spun wildly.
Then—
one of them cracked.
CRACK.
Arga's eyes widened.
"...No..."
Kai stared at the lunchbox.
For the first time since they had met—
true fear crossed his face.
"That..."
"...has never happened before."
Every tree surrounding them leaned in the same direction.
Toward the heart of the forest.
As though the entire ancient woodland was kneeling.
The wind stopped.
The birds fell silent.
Even Dominion ceased firing.
Then—
they heard it.
A single footstep.
Heavy.
Ancient.
Impossible.
Not Ursa Vitalis.
Not human.
Something...
beneath the earth...
was awakening.
In the overwhelming silence—
Pak Rahmat stepped forward alone.
Calm.
Unshaken.
Without hesitation, he removed the glove from his right hand.
Etched into his palm...
was the same ancient symbol of light that glowed upon Ursa Vitalis's chest.
Everyone froze.
Sinta whispered,
"...What is that?"
Kai instinctively stepped backward.
For the first time...
his composure shattered.
"...Impossible."
Ursa Vitalis slowly turned toward Pak Rahmat.
Then—
the colossal guardian lowered its head before him.
Like an ancient protector bowing to a king long thought lost.
For the first time—
the Dominion Commander lost his smile.
"...So..."
"...you're still alive."
Pak Rahmat met his gaze.
His voice was low.
Ancient.
Powerful enough to make the air itself tremble.
"You have disturbed..."
"...something that should have remained asleep."
He slowly raised his glowing hand toward the generator.
And the entire forest...
answered.